Bringing Out the Best in Brands

Want to accelerate your sales? Think Highlands.

Sales growth for innovative manufacturers and brands.

At Highlands, we help you grow sales into existing and new markets. Our expertise lies in getting your products into the hands of consumers, quickly, cost effectively and ahead of your competitors. We want to be your partner from beginning to end, and to the next beginning.

We are a 'rep group' but our business has grown beyond just that. We are not like any other agency you know of. Not only will we help you build a fully integrated strategic sales and marketing plan, but we will execute it for you, also.

With help from Highlands, clients have access to a wide range of services, from sales representation, e-Commerce management, strategic planning, digital and traditional marketing to selling into some of the world's largest and best distributors and retailers.

Highlands is pleased to announce the promotion of Kristin Stevens toVice President, eCommerce. She will have the primary responsibility of overseeing all operations for the eCommerce team.

“We are happy to recognize Kristin’s invaluable contribution to our company. She has proven to be an effective leader and her hard work and dedication will continue to enhance the strategic direction, growth, and profitability of Highlands’ eCommerce offering,” said Gordon Christiansen, Chief Operating Officer and Senior VP of Marketing at Highlands.

For over nine years, the eCommerce team has been pivotal to the success of Highlands’ clients. The team works alongside clients to create personalized eCommerce strategies that maximize sales and deliver easily measurable results. This comprehensive and holistic approach creates consistent and best-in-class online retail experiences for our clients and their customers.

B2B distribution channels are merging - we like to call it ‘channel blurring’. Wholesalers, distributors and resellers are all looking for ways to grow, so they seek new product categories, new services and new channels. Some examples: Staples is the second largest Jan-San distributor in the USA, Grainger sells business machines, HD Supply offers stationery products (through strategic alliances), and Amazon Business has a stated intention of tackling industrial and healthcare markets.

What does this mean for the B2B sales person? Increasingly they’re being asked to sell a wider portfolio of products to a wider set of customers. Their ability to be experts in every category is difficult, if not nearly impossible.

What does it mean for manufacturers? Simply put: your salesforce is being stretched, often stretched to a point where they will find it difficult to provide genuine insights to their customer base about your products. Quite a conundrum.

What can a manufacturer do about it? Next time you produce a catalog, sell sheets or training material, think about updating how you present your offering this way:

Start with the WHERE, by positioning your range (or at least the relevant parts of your range) into vertical markets, so both your salesperson and their customers can see HOW your products apply in their environment. And highlight benefits, not features - ultimately, that is what people buy anyway!

Then, when the customer is interested they can dive into the product detail, or the WHAT.

So, give your sales team the tools to show their customers the WHERE and HOW first, and they’ll get to the WHAT.

If you would like more information on creating great product stories for your customers, contact us.

Highlands is pleased to announce Darren Laycock as Territory Sales Manager for Western Canada. Darren has more than 30 years of sales account management experience, specializing in Office Products/Furniture, and Educational institutions.

“We are delighted to have Darren join our team and help us with the growth of our business. His years of industry experience in the Canadian market provides our business with the right person to continue growing sales for our clients, “said Brendan Lane, President and General Manager of Highlands Canada. “I am looking forward to working with him.”

Before joining Highlands, Darren was President of Dynamic Marketing Inc., and will continue to represent those same manufacturers in Western Canada.

Highlands is pleased to announce Michelle (Mickey) Sandor as Business Development Manager, responsible for building relationships within the Multi-Family and Hospitality channels in the United States. Mickey’s background as a Hospitality Specialist at HD Supply gives her great insight and knowledge to accelerate sales for Highlands’ clients.

"Mickey's prior experience working in sales for HD Supply and on the manufacturer side - calling on the Hospitality vertical - make her a great fit for Highlands as we move to support our partners and grow market share in these key business sectors," said Mike Douglas, VP Sales for the Central and West.